In September 2002, we went to Hawaii to find quasars once
again, at Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea. (see this
page for my pictures from our previous run at Subaru in June 2002).
After our successful observing run, I went to Maui for a short side trip. Here's a map of where I went on this trip:
And here's a closeup map of Maui to get you started. It's the first island west of the Big Island of Hawaii, and at times you can see the peak of Haleakala from Mauna Kea. Although the two islands are very close, you generally have to fly back and forth from Honolulu to get there.
I stayed at a place in Kaanapali ("ka a na pa' li") on the very west side of Maui. It's kind of an isolated resort area, except for the too-trendy town of Lahaina ("la hay na"). It would take me about 45 minutes each day to drive from Kaanapali to Kihei, where just about everyone else stays, and where I was taking scuba lessons each morning. But it did have very nice views:
Kahului, in the center of the island, is where everyone flies into, and where all the main shopping and commercial areas are. It's where you find the Walmart and Home Depot. Maui is *very* touristy and commercial, except for a few
small towns on the slopes of Haleakala, such as Haiku and Makawao. This means that there are
lots of things to see and do, but lots of other people who are seeing and
doing them at the same time. Still, there are interesting things
that many people don't stop and notice.
One of the biggest industries (maybe the biggest?) on
Maui is cultivating sugar cane, and this means that fields are always being
plowed up, planted, harvested, and then burned. The wind is also
pretty fierce on Maui, especially in the afternoons. This combines
to create some unusual sights:
That's one of the main highways which cuts through the
middle of the island. The high winds have blown dust and dirt everywhere.
It's not just regular old dirt like here on the mainland, but volcanic
red dirt that gets in your eyes, nose, everywhere. Here's a panorama
of that field up ahead:
Add to that some smoke from burning fields:
And the same field, later that night:
The drive to Hana is said to be spectacular, but I didn't feel like fighting 2000 tourists who drive it every day to get a view. It's a curving, slow-going road with lots of waterfalls and reportedly 108 one-lane bridges to slow you down. I get the idea already. Actually I did want to see the island southwest of Hana, below the volcano, but not enough to do that kind of driving. And actually you can see what it's like from on top of Haleakala:
The silversword is the very rare plant/flower found only
here, and it is said to be endangered. Its leaves grow a silvery
hairlike coating, which supposedly protects from the intense sun at high
altitude.
Also up here are some of Hawaii's communications towers.
And finally, views of the impressive crater, which is
mostly caused by erosion:
And what you were waiting for -- pictures of me in the water.
With a turtle:
With an eel:
And a curious school of fish:
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Thanks for visiting!
10/10/02
I stopped at a Japanese cemetery on the northeast side of Maui, just outside Paia:
In the middle of the southwest side of the island is
Haleakala, the volcano on Maui. Like on Mauna Kea, there are astronomical
observatories here, but the altitude is a little lower than Mauna Kea. The strange looking enclosure in the middle belongs to the Air Force, and the sign says "Maui Space Surveillance Complex". I think they look for space junk here.
